Two Tickets to Paradise

"I've got two tickets to paradise,
Won't you pack your bags, we'll leave tonight..."

That's exactly what we did.  It was Fall Break for Caleb, so we decided that we needed a break too.  While the kids were enjoying themselves with the grandparents, we headed down to Secrets Cap Cana in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, for a yoga teaching vacation.

What followed was one perfectly relaxing week full of one perfect day after another.  Sure, it rained every now and then and there was some seaweed along the shoreline, but we were at a top-of-the-line resort...at the beach...with gourmet meals breakfast, lunch and dinner (and second breakfast and poolside afternoon snack...)...with each other...and WITHOUT the kids.  As all parents can attest, we love our children, but they are hard work.  And there's something to be said for spending some time away from them every now and then.  So we took full advantage of our week away (and prayed that our kids would not make the grandparents demand that we come back early).
A typical day looked something like this:
* Breakfast (where we ate too much)

* Work out
* Yoga on the beach (my purpose for being there was to teach yoga classes once a day at 10:00)

Not a bad yoga studio.

* Second breakfast/Elevensies/Early Lunch (where we once again ate too much)
* Nap by the pool/Pool volleyball/Snorkeling/Nap on the beach/Kayaking/Pray that a waiter walks by giving out ice cream

Just look at this paradise we were staying at!

* Afternoon snack

* More of the same...

* Dinner at a fancy restaurant (at which time we were pretty well stuffed from all the food from earlier in the day, but the food was so delectable that you could hardly stop yourself from eating it!)

* Walk around to see what was going on around the resort (which included salsa dancing one night, to my great pleasure...well, there was salsa music by the pool, and Tony was kind enough to indulge me in some salsa dancing!)

 A few days we also took excursions off of the resort property.  One day we went on a zip line tour, at the height of which we could see all over the island.  That same day we also went to the Blue Hole, a mineral water spring partially hidden by overhanging rocks.  It was amazing jumping into the refreshingly cool blue water below!  

 We also some monkeys and really large iguanas.

 A few days later we went on the Reef Explorer excursion, which is basically a few hours on a floating dock/aquarium about a quarter of a mile from shore.  After kayaking around the area, we decided to try out the snorkeling to see if we could see more underwater.  So we donned our masks, snorkels, and flippers and hopped into the ocean water that is blocked off with some sort of netting (to keep certain creatures in and others out).  As soon as we got started, I heard Tony pop his head out of the water and say (his exact words), "That's a shark!  What the h-e-double-hockey-sticks are we doing?!"  Don't worry - it was "just" a nurse shark.  And there were a few sting rays there too.  By my logic, they surely wouldn't purposefully enclose us with any dangerous creature - that would certainly result in bad reviews on Trip Advisor, right?  So we continued on.  In any event, we survived our encounter with the sharks and sting rays.  The most amazing part of the snorkeling was swimming outside of the enclosure where the reef is and seeing all the brightly colored fish.  This excursion also included a massage on the dock, which seemed a little out of place to me, but it was actually quite nice seeing the water below and hearing the sounds of the ocean.

 This was the most wonderful beach trip, but, alas, it could not last forever.  While I normally am ready to come home after a week-long trip, as we drove away from the resort in the airport shuttle, I did feel a little broken-hearted at leaving such a beautiful place and such kind people.  But it wasn't long before I remembered the purpose of this vacation: to leave us restored, relaxed, and ready to return to the daily grind.  It certainly accomplished its purpose and then some, and it was time for us to come home to our babies to continue on in our work of raising up our three precious children.
Other than lots of trips to McDonald's, we don't really know what the kids and the grandparents did while we were away, and no one is talking...As they say, "What happens at Grandma's, stays at Grandma's."  They were happy to see us when we returned, and the feeling was mutual.
After a week back at home, we've more or less returned to business as usual, but I'm already trying to figure out a way to get back - though after using up all our capital with the grandparents, perhaps it will have to be Five Tickets to Paradise next time...